Sainz already has his new Audi for Dakar 2023: The F1 of the desert

“In the 2023 Dakar our rivals will struggle.” Words of Carlos Sainz. this is what he said last January in MD ‘El Matador’, with a smile. This is the first week of Dakar. There was one more ahead, but all he could think about was winning the next edition of the toughest event in the world. The rider from Madrid showed himself in the last Dakar with a great challenge, as a great leader on the track and in the development of one of the most complex and at the same time exciting projects that he has faced in his long and successful career. At the age of 59, he thought of making history at Audi. And now, which has been fulfilled for 60 years (in April), from his gaze removes the illusion of the youngest man for achieving his fourth victory in the most difficult race in the world, all with different brands (2010 Volkswagen, 2018 Peugeot, 2020 Mini X- Raids). This Thursday, along with other members of Audi, Carlos showed what will be his new monster for 2023.

This Thursday, at Neuburg (Munich)the headquarters of Audi Sportthe new Audi machine for Dakar has been announced, an improved and refined version of Audi RS Q e-Tron: The Audi RS Q e-Tron E2 which MD saw in person at the German company’s headquarters. In a kind of bivouac next to the test track of the German brand, everyone was surprised by the arrival of this new generation of the car, with Stéphane Petrhansel at the controls. At first glance, the change is remarkable. It is a more stylish car, with a major facelift at the aerodynamic level, more compact in width and with less front and rear surfaces. “This is the F1 of the desert”Ekstrom said. “It’s a desert LMP”, also said It’s a car that’s improved a lot in that aspect, as well as last year’s car’s main problem: weight.

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This car leaves from going to Dakar 2022 with 200 more kilos than its rivals, even ‘losing weight’ after a lot of work totaling 80 kilos compared to last year. The negative part is that it is more than 100 kg over the established weight. That 100 kilos will continue to be a burden and it is already worrying and the reduction in power set by the regulation for this car will continue to be a disadvantage against Toyota, great favourites. For this reason, Audi mentioned the podium as its main goal from the beginning. “Let’s see what position.”

Leading technology, improved car

The basis remains the same: Audi’s drive system is powered by two electric motors as it passes through Formula Eone for each axle, a gasoline engine from Audi’s past in DTM which is part of an energy converter system responsible for recharging the high-voltage battery while driving, and a battery system that last year was the heaviest in terms of weight for this prototype.

And in all this, the innovative technology with software that serves as an electronic differential and that, apart from its functions, also controls the car’s acceleration and braking force whenever the driver activates the pedals depending on each situation. The car of the future that surprised the previous Dakar, perfect and with less weight. A winning machine now more.

“Everything has been perfected and we have gone into detail”, highlighted Carlos Sainz, proud to see the tremendous work of the entire team. They went into such detail that even Audi managed to improve the storage and extraction system for spare tireswith one safety ring instead of four, so riders can change tires in case of a puncture, wasting less time.

looking forward to

The Spanish driver and Audi worked hard to create and develop a unique, pioneering car in less than a year: The 2022 Audi RS Q e-Tron, with the aim of winning the Dakar for the first time with a car with de -electric motor. In turn, this vehicle was presented with a new software born to revolutionize the competition.

The big question is whether that system will last because of the thousands of sensors in the car. The most incredible thing is that this complex and important element has not failed even once. To Carlos and the other members of Audi, ‘Monsieur Dakar’ Stephane Peterhansel and Mattias Ekstromthey were only hit by a controversial preliminary indication in the roadbook, which took them out of victory on the first day of the race, and the car was not prepared early enough to compete in a previous test.

For Audi it is key to compete before the last Dakar as a test to discover the problems that only appeared in the race. That test does not exist. The car did not arrive on time and the test for Audi was the first week of the Dakar itself. There, Carlos suffered drive shaft setbacks and several shock absorber failures. And once resolved, Carlos is seen as having options at all.

Sainz’s results were surprising. Two stages to win (stage 3, he became the first winner of the Dakar with an electric motorized car, and in stage 11), second position (stage 2) Y two third places. Y on stage 8, all three Audi men were in the Top-4. Brutal. For the signature of the four rings, things have been better since then Ekström and Peterhansel also won a stage. Audi left with the feeling that they could do something good in the general classification without the controversial indication on the Dakar stage 1 roadmap that separated them from everyone in the first change.

They were surprised by a very fast car, especially for its immediate power delivery on the sands and its automatic gearbox. Sainz and everyone at Audi agreed: they were in front of the best car they had ever brought to the dunes. One aspect is missing. Audi took no time to come up with a car that touched the lowest weight and was competitive It still weighs 200 kilos. That’s a lot of time per kilometer and more at the end of a stage. For this reason, Sainz warned MD last Dakar that if they managed to lower that weight for 2023, their car could be very difficult to beat. “It will be difficult for them…”, he exclaimed. Carlos did not want to forgive a kilogram, he wanted to get rid of the extra 200, but in the end he had to fight with a minus of 80.

Morocco Test and Rally Morocco

Now, a year later they want to win. Prepare to hear complaints from your rivals if your car excels in sand dunes and other terrain, as there have been some words along those lines in the past year. And they hope that this time the ‘roadbook’ will not deny them anything.

For this, this course they can complete more tests and past tests. They will arrive with a perfect car and with kilometers in their backpack, as Audi plans to test in Morocco after the first test already conducted by Carlos Sainz in Zaragoza, a test that everyone appreciates as very positive.

Later, the Rally of Morocco will come. And the next thing is the Dakar. These last kilometers will also help Sainz’s co-driver, Lucas Cruz, to reach his highest level of navigation, something that was also key to winning again, as was the case with Sainz’s other three overall wins. ‘El Matador’ and his Catalan ‘kopi’ are preparing for one of the most exciting races. They want to touch the sky again. Although for now, they remain vigilant.